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Added 7 October 2026

blow

/bləʊ/ verb

In Latin: flo, sufflo Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about blow at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To produce an air current.
To propel by an air current (or, if under water, a water current), usually with the mouth.
Blow the dust off that book and open it up.
To be propelled by an air current.
The leaves blow through the streets in the fall.

noun

A strong wind.
We’re having a bit of a blow this afternoon.
A chance to catch one's breath.
The players were able to get a blow during the last timeout.
Powder cocaine.

interjection

Used to express displeasure or frustration.
Blow the expense!

noun

An instance of the act of striking or hitting.
A fabricator is used to direct a sharp blow to the surface of the stone.
A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault.
A damaging occurrence.
A further blow to the group came in 1917 when Thomson died while canoeing in Algonquin Park.

Origin

From Middle English blowen, from Old English blāwan (“to blow, breathe, inflate, sound”), from Proto-West Germanic *blāan, from Proto-Germanic *blēaną (“to blow”) (compare German blähen), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- (“to swell, blow up”) (compare Latin flō (“to blow”) and Old Armenian բեղուն (bełun, “fertile”)).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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